Brazil Central Bank Cuts Interest Rate to 14.75% in Tepid Start to Easing Cycle

Brazil’s central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point as the economy cools, while signaling that the pace of additional reductions will hinge on the inflationary impact from the war in the Middle East.

Board members led by Gabriel Galipolo lowered the benchmark Selic to 14.75% in an unanimous decision late Wednesday, as expected by 19 of 30 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Ten others forecast a larger, half-point drop, while one saw borrowing costs remaining unchanged at a nearly two-decade high of 15%.